Close shave I think

Discussion in 'Carpenters' Talk' started by Chippie mac chipface, Feb 19, 2021.

  1. Jord86

    Jord86 Screwfix Select


    Yeah, and at the mercy of worthless social media reviews.
     
  2. Chippie mac chipface

    Chippie mac chipface Active Member

    Don't get me started, I ask every customer to file a Google review for me, apparently it makes quite a difference with your websites Google ranking. I have five stars but anyone can use a false email account to post what ever they want on it and it is almost impossible to get malicious reviews removed.

    Let's face it we all take more notice of bad reviews than good ones
     
  3. Mr Rusty

    Mr Rusty Screwfix Select

    It does, up to a point, but what really helps is to write good copy text incorporating specific phrases which will get picked up by "long tail searches". What this means is that if you make hardwood bookcases, you could write e.g. "hand-made hardwood wooden bookcases designed and made in [my county] to your own specifications. Our craftsmen manufactured hardwood bookcases are manufactured from certified sustainably sourced hardwoods"

    so when people search "bookcases" they get 10,000,000 results, but if they search "hand-made hardwood wooden bookcases made in [my county]", they quite likely just find you.

    By mixing up several extended phrases that people might search for within the paragraphs of your copy, you can really increase your exposure.
     
    chillimonster likes this.
  4. Chippie mac chipface

    Chippie mac chipface Active Member

    I looked into SEO quite deeply and talked to a few companies and as we all know it is a marathon not a sprint. One firm suggested Google adds which they would manage for me.

    I went direct to Google, had two one hour chats on the phone with them so they could find exactly what I required and took it from there, I must admit it is amazing, it is pay per click which can be capped, I only advertise to the towns near me and have 10 key words and like you say some are very specific. I get probably 3 -4 enquirers a day. I have only been doing it for three weeks but I have also noticed how my website is rising in searches organically. Google do try to up sell but you just need to be firm.
     
    chillimonster likes this.
  5. Mr Rusty

    Mr Rusty Screwfix Select

    Good for you. I am sales & mktg director for an SME and this is what I do in the day job. Google ads can certainly help, and can be tightly targeted but you do have to work out how they work, and keep on top of it otherwise costs can run away - you're right - they do upsell!. Personally, I find in a competitive market I bid fairly high to make sure I get exposure, but have highly targeted key words. You can also use "negative" keywords so for example, you might want to not show your ad if people use the search term "cheap". Having said that, we still get the bulk of our web visitors from organic search - and this is where long-tail search terms really help.

    In google ads you can have as many key words and phrases as you like, so you could e.g. have an exact match key words of "custom made tall mahogany bookcases", which would only show your ad if someone entered that exact search phrase. However, if the long-tail search works as an organic search it is arguably pointless paying google to show your ad as the punter will find you anyway near the top of the page. Beware of using anything other than exact match. In the example above, if you used "phrase match" someone could search "custom made tall candles", and it would match to you because of the phrase "custom made tall"

    I look at ad-words as the icing on the cake to get exposure in the middle ground where organic search doesn't work so well - i.e. for the more "general" search terms.
     
  6. Hans_25

    Hans_25 Screwfix Select

    I personally think 50% up front to secure the booking is way too steep, if its for materials then why not say you need x %age for materials one week before work is due to start, that gives you a weeks grace and them a chance to cough up and show you they're reasonable people.
     
  7. Chippie mac chipface

    Chippie mac chipface Active Member


    Well, it works for me, I have just quoted for a £10k bookcase in oak, there is no way I can order the timber, get it machined and build the bookcase in a week, I think it has to be realised that a lot of things are payed for in full before delivery or acceptance, beds, kitchens supplied by the big boys, holidays etc. We are in business and we know there will be risks but you dont need to be a Dragon in the Den to realise that you need to minimize them. I have lost a handful of jobs re deposits, if a customer can not trust me at order stage why should I trust them at payment stage?

    Time also has to be considered , if a three week job is canceled 2 days before its start date I will incur costs re organising other jobs or having to find work.

    I have also been caught out when not taking a deposit, £9k owed, it is then when you find out that the "simple" County Court Fast Track system is nothing of the sort.
     
  8. Chippie mac chipface

    Chippie mac chipface Active Member


    They have been really good to deal with so far, in a week or so I will carry out the first months review of the keywords and look at changing them if needed at the end of month 2.
     
  9. goldwise

    goldwise Active Member

    You know when you've found the right contractor. Mutual trust is better than a cash deposit. If goods are required then sure you should expect to pay something in advance.

    Always best to do your research before booking a contractor. For example, I make a point of avoiding any doorstep tradesmen (tree services), especially if their calling card only gives a mobile number and no address. I used to avoid any tradesman without a landline, but times change.

    And, I always made a point of not using any tradesman with a company name made up of initials, like AJK plastering, and I'm still a bit prejudiced that way. Prefer contractors not to arrive before 8:30. Not that keen on using those whose only online presence is Facebook either.

    My list of preferences is so long that no wonder I have a load of work built up but can't find anyone suitable. I'm sure I'm not alone. There are a lot of bad experience stories on screwfix.
     
  10. Hans_25

    Hans_25 Screwfix Select

    Fair enough, its your business and you do what works for you. There's more risk upfront than I had thought and given what you've said, it makes more sense now.
     
    Chippie mac chipface likes this.
  11. stevie22

    stevie22 Screwfix Select

    Round our way tree surgeons seem to be very tender little snowflakes: "no thanks" is deemed to be rude!!

    Maybe I should have let him ask me if I wanted my trees lopped first but the site of chain saw trousers put me into full Sherlock Holmes mode!
     
  12. goldwise

    goldwise Active Member

    Honestly, there have been times when I've considered having my trees removed as they attracted such frequent attention. A memorable one who was most annoying got me into conversation in the garden. He was such a shouty guy and I didn't think my neighbours needed to know all the details. I'm sure I shushed him before dismissing him. I already have a proper tree surgeon btw.
     
  13. Chippie mac chipface

    Chippie mac chipface Active Member


    Interestingly I just looked at the Sharps website, they want 25% booking fee and 65% the week before commencement, thats 90% upfront.
     
  14. Mr Rusty

    Mr Rusty Screwfix Select

    I think there is a difference between paying a corporate for a bespoke product, an independent for a bespoke product and a general tradesperson for basically work on site. The first, you can be reasonably sure that they won't disappear overnight, and you can protect your risk with credit card payments - not much different from ordering from DIY Kitchens or whoever. I think 50% for bespoke furniture off-site production is also fair, and I certainly wouldn't have any issues with that either. It is also the going rate for much made to order furniture - we've bought a few fairly expensive made-to-order items recently and they were all 50% up front and rest on delivery. However, 50% (or even 30%) up front for an on-site job is to me unacceptable unless there are special order items required. IMHO there is no need for anything other than a holding deposit at most for general builders, plumbers, sparkies, decorators
     

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